Empty Hearts and Expensive Liquor
by MedusaOfTheSpecies
Summary: Victorie Weasley, professional publicist, has a problem. In fact, she has a bunch of them, starting with having to fake date her client and friend, Teddy Lupin. :: TeddyVictorie, Hollywood!au


**A/N:** Another MC? Hell ya! So this is going to be TeddyVictorie end game, not much angst but lots of swearing because I have no shame. Enjoy!

 **Written for:**

MC Monday: Week One

Resurrect Romance: Plot Eleven

 **Word count:** 1022 words

 **x.X.x**

Victorie's eyes opened, her feet hitting the carpet as she let out a groan. Her head was pounding like a drum beat, another piece of evidence of her hangover, along with her parched throats and red-rimmed eyes.

It was going to be a slow morning, she didn't have to go into work until nine and she could-

That's when she saw the alarm clock. The _turned-off_ alarm clock which was currently flashing the numbers: 8:50.

"Fuck," Victorie swore, raising to her closet.

She put on her clothes rushedly, not even paying attention to whether or not they were neat. Pulling on her shoes was next, along with the world's quickest makeup routine and throwing her hair up.

By 8:55, Victorie was ready and she raised to her car, slamming the door behind her.

She must have broke at least ten traffic laws on her way to work, her heart pounding in her chest. She was a publicist for god's sake, she couldn't afford to be late!

Victorie parked, throwing her bag over her shoulder as she raced in.

At exactly nine o'clock exactly, Victorie opened the door, only to find Kingsley Shacklebolt, her head supervisor, waiting for her.

"Good morning, Victorie," he said in his deep, rich voice. "I knew I could count on you to be on time, especially today."

Victorie frowned. "Today? I wasn't aware of any special occasion on the calendar, Kingsley."

Kingsley raised a surprised eyebrow. "You didn't check your phone?"

Victorie reached into her pocket and looked at the device which was still flashing with the notification: one hundred unread messages.

"What happened?" Victorie asked concernedly, her lips pressed into an anxious line.

Kingsley smiled grimly. "We have an emergency. Follow me."

 **x.X.x**

When she had been eighteen, Victorie had thrown all her family's advice and gone straight to Hollywood, ambitious and dedicated.

Hollywood has swallowed her and spit her out, leaving her broke and rejected, until an golden opportunity had landed in her lap.

Teddy Lupin, her uncle's godson, was on his way to becoming an actor and he need a publicist- fast.

The person had to be trustworthy and ready to handle Teddy's partying, his general disregard for authority, and charmingly stupid attitude.

Victorie had been eighteen and she had thought she could handle anything. They had grown up together, her and Teddy, and they had been friends. She knew him well, after all.

At eighteen, Victorie thought bitterly, she had been so damn naive.

 **x.X.x**

"Kingsley, you're making me nervous" Victorie stated bluntly. "What happened? I need to know urgently."

"You won't like it," Kingsley warned darkly. "Another one of Teddy Lupin's secrets has made its way to the public's ears."

Victorie rolled her eyes. "I dealt with the time the entire world thought he was snorting crack cocaine at a nursing home. It can't be that bad."

Kingsley patted the chair across from him in his office and Victorie plopped down, scowling jealously at the quality of his chairs.

"Victorie," Kingsley began, "how much do you know about Teddy's mom and dad?"

Victorie shrugged. "We grew up together, so I know the basics. They fought a war, died, and left Teddy with his grandmother, Andromeda. He went through that stage of teen angst about his parents and then he got over it. Now, how does this relate to the problem at hand?"

Kingsley frowned. "Rita Skeeter recently wrote an article about-"

"Fuck." Victorie swore. "I hate that woman. She finds a way to make everything a damn scandal."

Kingsley nodded in easy acceptance and agreement. "I agree completely, Rita Skeeter is a foul woman. Now, did you know Teddy's father cheated on his mother with her own cousin?"

Victorie's mouth dropped open. "Well, fuck that too."

"For a publicist, you're not very marketable," Kingsley remarked and Victorie laughed. "But I agree with that assessment."

Victorie's mind swam with ideas, her hands itching to grab her phone and start solving this-

"We've decided on a way to solve this," Kingsley said and Victorie's hands feel back to her lap in disappointment. For a second, she had really thought she could solve this herself and establish her talent.

"And how is that?" She asked instead.

Kingsley smiled. "To show the public that Teddy isn't like his father, what should we do?"

Victorie smirked. "Put him in a committed relationship. But Kingsley, I haven't met a girl out there who could keep up with Teddy and his antics. You do realize that, right? Any girl will lose her mind faster than he'll dump her."

Kingsley's eyes were apologetic. "Actually, there is one girl who can, who's familiar with him and his ways. We really need her."

It took a minute for Victorie's mind to work, for her to understand the meaning of his words, but then-

"You want me to date Teddy Lupin?" She said, bursting into laughter. Oh, that was hilarious, her and Teddy. They were friends, close friends to be specific, but they were also two of a kind, as in to say completely and utterly _insane_.

Upon her voicing this comment out loud to him, Kingsley shrugged. "It's only fake dating, Victorie. As per your job career, I need you to spin any story we need for Teddy's reputation to stay in tact. Of course, we will pay you."

Victorie tuned the rest out, knowing that everything would be on her future contract anyways. Honestly, fake dating Teddy wouldn't be bad. It'd be fun to be paid to spend time with her friend, to join him in drinking and partying. They'd burn down the town together.

"There are a few restrictions, however. I cannot let his current attitude continue with the idea of him turning a new leaf and committing. Therefore, no parties, drinking, or drugs."

Oh _fuck_.

Victorie glared fiercely. "You better be paying double your 'well paying' and I'm assuming you'll be telling Teddy about this?"

Kingsley gulped nervously. "I was hoping you'd do want to do it considering your new… relationship with him."

Victorie smiled back, exposing her teeth dangerously. "You assumed wrong."


End file.
